Over 1.5 million children died during the Holocaust of World War II. Other Jewish children were persecuted but did survive. Lola Rein Kaufman was one such survivor who avoided death by hiding from the Nazis.
Lola Rein was born October 4, 1934, in Poland, Czortkow. Lola’s mother was a seamstress, and her husband’s parents lived with them.
When Lola was five, people would pass her and say "dirty Jew." One September afternoon, she was going for a walk with her mother. Suddenly, Russian soldiers came and started to shoot everywhere. After fifteen to twenty minutes, the shooting ended. From that point on, Russian soldiers took over the town. The Russian treated the Poles like second-class citizens. Lola’s grandfather could no longer run his bakery. One day, Lola’s father was even taken away, but later he returned home.
During the 1930s, Adolph Hitler told everyone, “The Jews are a diseased race.” On September, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland where more than three million Jews lived. By 1941 Hitler had a plan to get rid of all Jews. He called the plan the Final Solution. Hitler also made rules for Jews. All Jews had to wear a yellow star on their clothing and put a “J” on their official papers. Laws were passed that said Jews were not allowed to own land and could not work at certain professions.
On July 6, 1941, the Germans invaded the town in which Lola’s family lived. Lola’s dad was walking one evening when a gang started to beat him. When he got home, he was drenched in blood. After the beating, Lola’s father became severely ill. In 1942, on a hot summer day, Lola’s father died.
On April 1942, all Jews were confined to a ghetto. Only certain people were allowed to get papers that allowed them to leave the ghettos like Lola’s mother. All Jews found outside of a ghetto without the papers they needed were killed on the spot. The once wonderful marketplace by Lola’s house was now reserved for Poles and Ukrainians only.
On August 27, 1942 the Germans rounded up Jews to be sent to concentration camps by trains. Lola and the rest of her family hid in a hole under their apartment. The Germans came and then they went. That one night, two thousand Jews disappeared.
On February 19, 1943, Lola’s mother was murdered by a German policeman on her way to work. Lola’s grandmother then sent Lola to a bridge to wait for a person to give money to in order to hide her.
One day, the woman who hid Lola for two or three months was threatened by her son-in-law. This son-in-law threatened to denounce Lola and the Ukrainian woman.
The woman then sent Lola to her sister, Anna Aksenczuk, so Lola could stay safe. Lola was hidden in a hole with three other Jews. Lola hid there for seven months until Soviet forces arrived.
March 1944, Lola and the other Jews were liberated. Poland was officially liberated on March 23.
In the meantime, Lola’s grandmother died from a bombing of the ghetto she was in, and Lola’s relatives would not take her in. Lola decided to leave to go to Czortkow with the family she had been hiding with.
Soon, Germany returned to Poland to reclaim the Russian’s territory. Lola marched with hundreds of Jews to Russia, out of Germany’s reach. Lola found herself in a government building in Dzymalow with her uncle’s brother-in-law. Lola stayed in the building alone, begging every day for food.
A man saw Lola and offered to take her to an orphanage. On the way, they stopped in the town of Gritsev. There they noticed Germans bombing a town not far from them. The mayor took Lola in as a daughter. Lola lived with the mayor’s family for a year.
Then the mayor’s wife wrote to Czortkow to find out that an uncle of Lola’s was alive. Lola’s uncle tried to find her, but he was arrested for traveling without his papers with him. George, Lola’s uncle, was bailed out of jail and got papers to go to a city close to Lola. Lola got on a train to the city where George was, and the two were reunited.
George’s family and Lola lived in an apartment with three families. One day, a man knocked on the apartment door; it was Lola’s uncle Isaac. That is when Lola’s family decided to move to America.
Lola’s family had to cross cities and towns illegally. Lola’s family finally got accepted to go to America, but Lola was not accepted at first. Then, Lola got accepted and left for America on July 7, 1949.
Once in America, Lola’s family stayed with her sponsor, Jack, until George got an apartment. Lola turned fifteen and soon after got a job in a business selling nylon stockings. When Lola was sixteen, she got a certificate saying she was a genuine computer operator. Lola turned seventeen and started going out with a man ten years older named Walter Kaufman. On Lola’s eighteenth birthday, she married Walter.
Lola had her first child when she was twenty-one, in 1955. In 1958, Lola had her second child, a baby boy. Lola moved and had her third child in 1966.
One day Lola went to a Holocaust memorial and met a writer named Jane Marks. Jane wrote a book on Lola in 1993. In 2001 Lola got a letter from the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. about wanting artifacts. Lola donated the dress that her mother had made for her for the exhibit.
Lola Rein Kaufman still lives in America and has three grandchildren. Today, Lola travels to many cities, speaking about the Holocaust.
Lola Rien Kaufman
Over 1.5 million children died during the Holocaust of World War II. Other Jewish children were persecuted but did survive. Lola Rein Kaufman was one such survivor who avoided death by hiding from the Nazis.
Lola Rein was born October 4, 1934, in Poland, Czortkow. Lola’s mother was a seamstress, and her husband’s parents lived with them.
When Lola was five, people would pass her and say "dirty Jew." One September afternoon, she was going for a walk with her mother. Suddenly, Russian soldiers came and started to shoot everywhere. After fifteen to twenty minutes, the shooting ended. From that point on, Russian soldiers took over the town. The Russian treated the Poles like second-class citizens. Lola’s grandfather could no longer run his bakery. One day, Lola’s father was even taken away, but later he returned home.
During the 1930s, Adolph Hitler told everyone, “The Jews are a diseased race.” On September, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland where more than three million Jews lived. By 1941 Hitler had a plan to get rid of all Jews. He called the plan the Final Solution. Hitler also made rules for Jews. All Jews had to wear a yellow star on their clothing and put a “J” on their official papers. Laws were passed that said Jews were not allowed to own land and could not work at certain professions.
On July 6, 1941, the Germans invaded the town in which Lola’s family lived. Lola’s dad was walking one evening when a gang started to beat him. When he got home, he was drenched in blood. After the beating, Lola’s father became severely ill. In 1942, on a hot summer day, Lola’s father died.
On April 1942, all Jews were confined to a ghetto. Only certain people were allowed to get papers that allowed them to leave the ghettos like Lola’s mother. All Jews found outside of a ghetto without the papers they needed were killed on the spot. The once wonderful marketplace by Lola’s house was now reserved for Poles and Ukrainians only.
On August 27, 1942 the Germans rounded up Jews to be sent to concentration camps by trains. Lola and the rest of her family hid in a hole under their apartment. The Germans came and then they went. That one night, two thousand Jews disappeared.
On February 19, 1943, Lola’s mother was murdered by a German policeman on her way to work. Lola’s grandmother then sent Lola to a bridge to wait for a person to give money to in order to hide her.
One day, the woman who hid Lola for two or three months was threatened by her son-in-law. This son-in-law threatened to denounce Lola and the Ukrainian woman.
The woman then sent Lola to her sister, Anna Aksenczuk, so Lola could stay safe. Lola was hidden in a hole with three other Jews. Lola hid there for seven months until Soviet forces arrived.
March 1944, Lola and the other Jews were liberated. Poland was officially liberated on March 23.
In the meantime, Lola’s grandmother died from a bombing of the ghetto she was in, and Lola’s relatives would not take her in. Lola decided to leave to go to Czortkow with the family she had been hiding with.
Soon, Germany returned to Poland to reclaim the Russian’s territory. Lola marched with hundreds of Jews to Russia, out of Germany’s reach. Lola found herself in a government building in Dzymalow with her uncle’s brother-in-law. Lola stayed in the building alone, begging every day for food.
A man saw Lola and offered to take her to an orphanage. On the way, they stopped in the town of Gritsev. There they noticed Germans bombing a town not far from them. The mayor took Lola in as a daughter. Lola lived with the mayor’s family for a year.
Then the mayor’s wife wrote to Czortkow to find out that an uncle of Lola’s was alive. Lola’s uncle tried to find her, but he was arrested for traveling without his papers with him. George, Lola’s uncle, was bailed out of jail and got papers to go to a city close to Lola. Lola got on a train to the city where George was, and the two were reunited.
George’s family and Lola lived in an apartment with three families. One day, a man knocked on the apartment door; it was Lola’s uncle Isaac. That is when Lola’s family decided to move to America.
Lola’s family had to cross cities and towns illegally. Lola’s family finally got accepted to go to America, but Lola was not accepted at first. Then, Lola got accepted and left for America on July 7, 1949.
Once in America, Lola’s family stayed with her sponsor, Jack, until George got an apartment. Lola turned fifteen and soon after got a job in a business selling nylon stockings. When Lola was sixteen, she got a certificate saying she was a genuine computer operator. Lola turned seventeen and started going out with a man ten years older named Walter Kaufman. On Lola’s eighteenth birthday, she married Walter.
Lola had her first child when she was twenty-one, in 1955. In 1958, Lola had her second child, a baby boy. Lola moved and had her third child in 1966.
One day Lola went to a Holocaust memorial and met a writer named Jane Marks. Jane wrote a book on Lola in 1993. In 2001 Lola got a letter from the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. about wanting artifacts. Lola donated the dress that her mother had made for her for the exhibit.
Lola Rein Kaufman still lives in America and has three grandchildren. Today, Lola travels to many cities, speaking about the Holocaust.
Lola Rein's story The Hidden Girl Lola's story in hiding in a hole
A map of the Holocaust camps in Germany.
A picture of how brutal the Holocaust was. This little boy shows how scary the Holocaust was for a child.
Works Cited
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